Almost everyone has applied for a job at one time and as you did you more than likely experienced a job description. It’s usually a document written by H.R. or managerial staff that simply attempts to best describe what the duties of the job will be. In my career I have read and written many J.D.’s, and they can be both a blessing and a curse. I’ve applied for and even received jobs where the J.D. could not have been more different than what the actual job duties were. The result being a genuine dissatisfaction with the job, costing the company and the candidate the risk of long-term success and tenure. But on the flip side, I’ve seen J.D.’s that were so accurate of the menial nature of the job that I took off running in the opposite direction. The clear delineation of the job duties in this case prevented someone from taking the job and experiencing disappointment in the daily duties required. A good J.D. is essential in fitting a qualified candidate into a position that suits them well; where the daily duties are something they will enjoy and strive to excel in.
Not to compare being a Christian as a job, but please allow me liberty here for the sake of an object lesson. What if being a Christian were a job and it had a job description? I see many people today that call upon the name of Christ and experience His amazing grace in a genuine salvation experience and then proceed to look around and ask, “what now?” And this is no surprise to God as one of the key components of the great commission in Matthew 28 is not to simply spew out the name of Christ and save as many as possible, but to make disciples of Christ. That is, to see new believers in Christ shepherded with love in the way they should progress and grow in the Lord. A mature believer should see the need to help the new believer in a daily study of God’s Word, usher them into a Bible teaching church, introduce them to the community of a small group of believers, and walk with them through the often tumultuous times of following Christ.
But how handy would it be at the beginning of discipleship to hand that new believer a Christian job description? Well, today David pretty much drafts one for us. David is full of days and about to go to be with the Lord. What does he die of? He was full of days, and the more days I get under my belt, the better I understand this terminology. But before David goes into the glory of Heaven, he does what great leaders do. He establishes leaders that will honor God in all they do as they continue the offices left behind. And as he does, David is very clear in what is expected from each office. He establishes a job description for serving the Lord. Now David here is specifically speaking to the priests of the tribe of Levi that have been entrusted to care for the ark and the temple. But under the New Testament, Christ has charged us all with being a priest unto him. (1 Peter 2:5-9, Revelation 1:6) Considering all of this, let’s take a peek at the Christian J.D.
1) They shall have charge of the work in the house of the Lord – 23:4 As you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, He intends for you to join a local body of believers that centers around the teaching of His Holy Word. The Biblical duties of the church are numerous, but the J.D. is clear, you are to be a part of one. The church is where Jesus uses His sons and daughters to do His work in this world. And this where a believer gets busy for God. Learning and growing in the power of the Word of God that will allow the believer to grow and mature in Christ. Connecting with other brothers and sisters in Christ so that you can shoulder their burdens as well as have them shoulder yours. As you share these burdens you are allowed to pray and be prayed for. Here you will be allowed countless opportunities to serve those around you that inhabit the world around you. Feeding the hungry, helping the poor and widows, and reaching out into your local community, displaying the gracious hand of God. As a believer and follower in Christ, these duties are not the jobs of someone else, but your job.
2) The purification of all Holy things in the house of the Lord – 23:28. This is a foundational issue in the life of the Christian. Two words here will drive the ability to fulfill the Christian J.D. and truly enjoy the work of God. Pure and Holy. The believer is to purify the Holy things that they deal with in their local church. And how can you purify things if you are not pure? Folks, the single biggest issue in walking closely with Christ is the purity of your heart. How pure is your heart before the Lord today? Are you losing the fight with sin? Are you living in a sinful state? You cannot draw close to Christ and fulfill His J.D. is you are comfortable living with sin in your heart. And if you cannot offer a pure heart to Christ, then how are you to purify His Holy things within His church? You will never enjoy the pure satisfaction of teaching a Bible study if you are embracing your sin. You will never fully enjoy that ministry feeding the hungry if you are living with someone out of wedlock. Whatever ministry God calls you into will suffer until you shed that addiction, drop your pride, and lose your anger. Purify your heart. Purify your hands. And then you will enjoy the boundless joy of dealing with the Holy things of God.
3) Stand every morning and evening thanking and praising the Lord – 23:30. If your praising of the Lord is incremental or cyclical, you will struggle with the job of Christianity. Just as you were made to eat and drink every single day, as a child of Christ, you were made to praise and thank Him every single day. Luke 6:45 says that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth flows. How excited are you to call Jesus Christ your Savior today? When I would interview a potential employee, I would simply ask them, “how excited are you to do this job?” You can fake a lot of things, but you can’t fake real excitement. If you have a passion for the job of serving Christ it will manifest itself in you starting your day by thanking Him for his goodness and praising Him for His salvation.
4) Regularly offer burnt offerings to the Lord – 23:31. Burnt offerings in the Old Testament speak of intercessory prayer. That is, a Levite priest would pray to God on the behalf of others. Since Christ came to die for us, we no longer need someone to pray on our behalf, but instead we can pray directly to Almighty God. But as you do lift up your voice in prayer, who are you praying for the most, yourself or others? I encourage you to focus your prayer life on praying for others before you attempt to pray for yourself. This ties back to point #1, as you actively engage in a local church, God will connect you with a plethora of believers that will need and cherish your prayers. This is a big part of the JD, use the power of prayer to help others.
5) Pronounce Blessings in His Name – 23:13. Jesus tells us the backbone and foundation of His commandments is this; to love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love others as we love ourselves. Do you like to be blessed? Do you like the feeling of when someone does something good for you and expects zero in return? We were built to bless others. After loving God, this is His biggest command. And to do that you must constantly be working on eradicating selfishness and personal pride. Seek to bless before you seek to be blessed. Seek to help before you seek to be helped. Seek to listen before you seek to be heard. Seek to love before you seek love. I’ve heard it called the J.O.Y. principle, Jesus is first, others second, and yourself last. To do this job for God, you need to get good and comfortable with recklessly blessing others and looking for nothing in return. God will dish out your blessings later.
I pray that you take your job as a follower of Christ seriously. That you study His Holy Word daily, constantly learning more and more about the job description that lies within it. For there is a world outside our door that is dying without the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Souls are being sent into eternity separated from God because we as Christians aren’t doing our job. God has given us all we need to do this job through His Holy Spirit, we must only commit to His J.D., commit our hearts to Him, and commit to follow Him in obedience wherever He may lead.
God bless you.
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